WeeklyDelight
Collection · 14 recipes

Complete Dinners in 30 Minutes

A whole dinner, not a main that still needs a side, on the table within half an hour.

Each of these is a full plate on its own: a protein, a vegetable and a starch cooked together in the recipe. The time on every card is start to finish, so nothing here hides a marinade, a rest or a pot of rice cooked separately.

How these were chosen

  • Prep, cooking and any waiting add up to 30 minutes or less, by the recipe's own times.
  • No step the recipe leaves untimed, and no ingredient that must be cooked in advance (cold cooked rice, for example).
  • Protein, vegetables and a starch are all in the ingredient list, so nothing else needs cooking.
  • A main course, not a side or a snack.

Chosen by reading each recipe's ingredients and method, and checked against the recipe again every time the site is built. Times are the recipes' own figures. None of these recipes has been cooked for this collection yet; how recipes are checked.

  1. Pad See Ew

    Chicken, Chinese broccoli and wide rice noodles in one wok; the charring is done in three 30-second rests, so the cooking is quick but needs your attention.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 12 min; 27 min start to finish
    Serves
    2
    Equipment
    Wok, Microwave
    Difficulty
    Easy

  2. Beef Lo Mein

    Egg noodles, sirloin, carrot and cabbage. The noodles boil for 3 minutes while you slice, and everything else happens in the wok.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 12 min; 27 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Wok
    Difficulty
    Easy

  3. Chicken Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

    The flat rice noodles soak in hot tap water for 10 minutes instead of boiling, which frees the hob for the chicken and vegetables.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 12 min; 27 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet, Wok
    Difficulty
    Easy

  4. Beef Noodle Stir Fry

    Steak, red pepper and broccoli with egg noodles; the beef is coated in cornflour and seared in two batches, the step that keeps it from stewing.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 10 min; 25 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet, Wok
    Difficulty
    Easy

  5. Mie Goreng

    Chicken, prawns, egg and pak choi with sweet soy noodles. A longer ingredient list than most here, but the cooking is about 10 minutes once everything is chopped.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 15 min; 30 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Wok
    Difficulty
    Easy

  6. Yaki Udon

    Ready-cooked udon only need loosening, so the 12 minutes of cooking go on browning the pork and wilting the cabbage.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 12 min; 27 min start to finish
    Serves
    3
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet, Wok
    Difficulty
    Easy

  7. Pasta with Peas and Bacon

    The peas go into the pasta water for the last 2 minutes, so the vegetable costs no extra pan or time.

    Time
    Prep 5 min, cook 20 min; 25 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet
    Difficulty
    Easy

  8. Salmon Pasta

    Tinned salmon and frozen peas in a lemon and cream-cheese sauce made in the pasta pan; 20 minutes and mostly cupboard ingredients.

    Time
    Prep 5 min, cook 15 min; 20 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Difficulty
    Easy

  9. Pasta ai Broccoli

    Half a kilo of broccoli boils in the same water as the penne and is crushed into the sauce. Meat-free, though the parmesan is not vegetarian.

    Time
    Prep 5 min, cook 20 min; 25 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet
    Difficulty
    Easy

  10. Skillet Gnocchi with Spinach

    Shop-bought gnocchi are fried straight from the packet, so there is no water to boil; 200 g of spinach wilts into the cream sauce.

    Time
    Prep 5 min, cook 15 min; 20 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet
    Difficulty
    Easy

  11. Sausage Hash

    Potatoes, sausage meat, onion and pepper with eggs cooked on top, all finished in one frying pan after a 5-minute parboil.

    Time
    Prep 10 min, cook 20 min; 30 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet
    Difficulty
    Easy

  12. Kielbasa Potato Skillet

    The potatoes start under a lid to cook through, then crisp uncovered; the kielbasa is already cooked, so it only needs browning.

    Time
    Prep 10 min, cook 20 min; 30 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet
    Difficulty
    Easy

  13. Sheet Pan Fish Tacos

    The cod roasts on a preheated tray while you shred the slaw and mix the crema; tortillas warm in a dry pan at the end.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 15 min; 30 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Oven, Baking tray or sheet pan
    Difficulty
    Easy

  14. Chilli Prawn Tacos

    The prawns take under 3 minutes in a hot pan. Make the slaw first and it softens while you do everything else.

    Time
    Prep 15 min, cook 8 min; 23 min start to finish
    Serves
    4
    Equipment
    Frying pan or skillet
    Difficulty
    Easy